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Thursday, September 24, 2015

Recycle Tip: Fruit Cups + Mason Jars

Look at this! Did you know that those little individual fruit cups fit perfectly in the top of a wide mouth mason jar. Well at least the Dole brand does. I suspect others do too. How brilliant is that?! Now you can keep all kinds of things neatly separated from others when you pack your lunch or snack. That little cup that would normally be thrown away can be recycled. Use it to keep dry ingredients separate from wet ingredients or visa versa. I did a lot of food prep using this idea this week. I made snacks and lunches.

Perhaps my favorite snack was the Cheese, Fruit and Nut Jars I made. I got the idea after purchasing Sargentos Balanced Breaks. They are a great afternoon snack and so easy to make your self. You can use your favorite cheese, dried fruit and nuts. The fruit cup and a wide mouth half pint jar makes it easy to make many ahead of time. I made several with two different types of cheese. Everything including the nuts kept their original texture even after spending days in the refrigerator. Here is what I put in each jar:1 oz. of cheese, cubed2 Tbsp. dried fruit2 Tbsp. mixed nuts

Everyone has heard of Mason Jar Salads by now. But with the fruit cup and a wide mouth quart size jar you can pack your salad with dressing or crunchy toppings separate until lunch. I made a few with artichokes, tomatoes, poached chicken, salad greens, Parmesan cheese and Italian dressing in the cup. It made a great light easy to carry lunch.

Another of my favorites was a Hummus and Veggies Snack Jar. I used a fruit cup and a wide mouth pint size jar. I cut up carrot, celery and red bell pepper into sticks. Then I put plain hummus in each fruit cup. Here is where I added variety to my snacks. I topped some with minced pickled jalapeno and some with minced sundried tomato then a drizzle of olive oil. You can use any selection of veggies and hummus. If prepping for a family everyone can have their favorite. You can buy store bought hummus or make your own.Check out this link for more Hummus recipes.

Last but certainly not least I packed my Chicken Tortilla Soup with the cheese and tortilla chips. I used one fruit cup and two wide mouth pint size jars. I put the soup in one jar and the chips in another. I put the cheese in the fruit cup and placed it on top of the chip jar. Then I put both in the refrigerator. Again the chips kept their crunchy texture even after being in the frig for days. This meal prep idea is going to make life very easy.

8 comments:

This is a great DIY for lunches and snacks. What a great use of the Dole fruit cups. Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday link party. Please join us again next week and invite your friends to come along.

we only buy fresh fruit here, sum frozen. then i remembered -- applesauce cups! we do buy those sum to choke down supplements with. i bet they would work...i also want to try the stainless steel cups that are popular in india. they are found in lunch sets here or in cooking supply stores or even groceries for condiment bowls. im betting they would fit. AND be dishwashable; im sure those fruit cups fly all over the top rack even :(

I see you are using the Dole Fruit Cups... I tried the Del Monte Fruit cups and the rim near the top of the cup prevents me from getting them through the mason jar rim. Is there a trick to this, or is the empty Dole Fruit cups the one that fits better?

Oh no! I am disappointed that the Del Monte brand does not work. I personally have had success with the Dole brand. I have not tried any of the others. I along with a few other people have tried apple sauce cups and they work too. I found that Motts brand of apple sauce works. The cup is a bit smaller than the Dole fruit cup. I am sorry your first try was a fail. I hope you will try again with one of the oyhers. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Now everyone knows Del Monte cups will not work. I appreciate you sharing. Have a good day! :)

I was disappointed to find that the Dole fruit cups did not fit my Ball wide-mouth canning jars. There a 16 ounce jar, and the fruit cups are just slightly too big which makes for the lid not wanting to screw on. I'm going to purchase applesauce cups and keep my fingers crossed that these work.

I hate that! I know the Kerr jars work. I thought Ball and Kerr are under the same company now? Who would think that the jars would be a little different. I do know the Mott's cups are smaller than the Dole cups. I am hopeful that is going to work for you. Good luck and thanks for letting me know which combo doesn't work. I do appreciate it. have a nice day!

About Me

I am a Louisiana girl, a licensed interior designer and I share my home with a very cute female pug. I love my family and friends. Most of all I love to cook for them.
Soup Spice Everything Nice is a blog with recipes, family recipes(mostly cajun), soup recipes, spice blends, interior design, and other nice things.